Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I was taking apples out of a bag--probably to make our first batch of applesauce--and little mister went CraZY!!

He just had to have an apple.

As you can see, he enjoyed it, skin and all.

I am having a bit of trouble with him eating.

He downright refuses to eat baby cereal anymore--which is fine.

Except that he also won't eat a variety of other foods.

He loves yogurt, waffles (he ate two whole ones the other day in mere minutes!! regular sized waffles, nothing baby about them!!), oatmeal, grilled cheese, arrowroot cookies, apples...and not too much else. Not even bananas! What baby doesn't like bananas?? Oh, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that he LOVES his sweets. Ice cream tops his list. At least the other kids started out as good eaters and ended up weeding stuff out (we're working our way back to being "normal" eaters now)...I don't know what to do with this boy! :) He just doesn't fit into the same mold as his siblings in many ways!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Of course feel free to comment, disagree, share bits of wisdom on any of my thoughts (as long as you do it in a nice way).

I am very, very tempted to ditch our "pre-packaged" curriculum. Not that it is bad. It is not. I just think, maybe, just maybe..I could do better and not feel pressured to fit everything in??? Plus, I'm not thrilled with how they organized the lesson plans. I end up re-writing them for myself anyway. (no one is actually pressuring me..other than myself)

My house is just too small. I so wish I had at least one more closet. Or less clutter? Or be more organized? Hmmm...

I am loving that my kids are actually starting to eat like normal human beings. The older two that is. The little ones eat pretty well. They actually will eat meat. Michael ASKED for more ravioli today. He ASKED!! Very exciting.

I'm having an issue with only having 24 hours in one day. Silly, right? God created everything perfectly and knows just what we need. So, what should I cut out? Cleaning? Cooking? Bathing? Playing? Sleeping? Learning? I'm sure once we get fully "into our groove" things will just fall into place, so to speak..but we aren't quite there yet. It frustrates me. We're over a month into school already. Shouldn't I have the hang of getting EVERYTHING done yet?

We're hoping to visit our new niece soon!! The kids keep telling me how they are going to say "hi" to "Abby Cadaby." I don't think they realize or remember how little newborns actually are.

Money. We won't go there. Suffice it to say, it is on my mind. I certainly know it is not everything or even something super important..but it surely is nice to have when you need it.

Church. Dilemmas. What is best for our family now? I won't get into it right now. Maybe another post.

The age old struggle of being a better, more Godly, content woman, wife, mother, person all around. Dying to self daily.

Michael misses his friends. It really makes me ache for him. If not for that, I think he would be completely content at home. Yes, he is only five years old, but he was in a social, pre-school setting for 2 years..he knows what he is talking about. He mentions his school friends often. I don't want to join a co-op at this point, and at all the activities we go to, he is the oldest one there. I need to find some boys, preferably in the 4-6 age range to hang out with on a regular basis. Any takers?

I could go on..but I think that is enough to leave you with at this point in time.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Mid-September, we took a mini-vacation..a mere couple miles from our home to the Great Wolf Lodge. A benefit to homeschooling--we could go mid-week AND take advantage of their homeschooler discount!! We stayed one night and two days--

the kiddies had a BLAST!

Our room.

Getting ready to head down!

Carina is the most timid of all the swimmers.

She kind of stayed on the edges pretty much the whole time.

Rian, on the other hand,

had no fear and wanted to go on every slide!

Michael was right in the middle of the two extremes.

The wave pool is where Travis and I (and Bean) hung out for the majority of the time. He loves the water too.

Showing me her "raisins."

My biggest problem was the girls and the use of the bathroom.

As you may know, neither of them like to use public restrooms (neither do I, for that matter!!), but on day #2, we had to leave our room by 11am--but were able to use the waterpark for the rest of the day. For the price we paid, you had better believe we were staying for a good chunk of time on day #2!! There was no comfort of the froggy potty in our room though. So, it seemed like a constant from the two of them, "I have to go potty," and then wouldn't go--until it to got to be dire emergency.

NOT FUN!!

The hallway.

If you have not been there before, it is an indoor waterpark, complete with restaurants, gift shops, bowling alley, storytimes, spa etc. etc. etc. They have all sorts of kid activities as well as adult things to do. I warn you, it is pricey though.

Well worth it with the discount to see the kids have so much fun though.

After about four hours at the water park, we headed to our room to clean up and see about some dinner.

That looks like a tired face to me!

My little wolf cubs.

After dinner, getting ready for storytime at the fireplace.

EXCEPT..little miss had to go potty of course.

Mike stayed with the two older kids, while I took the little ones up for jammies and potty.

What?!!

Time for bed!

Michael got the pull-out bed to himself, the girls shared a double bed and we brought the pack and play for Travis.